


Paper Lanterns

by EclipseOfTheWild



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Because it's me, But also, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hopeful Ending, Hyrule (Linked Universe)-centric, LU Discord Weekly Prompt, Legend (Linked Universe)-centric, Light Angst, One of them was one of the art ones but do I care??, Or I guess just, So I took two of the prompts and sorta crammed them together, So uh Sky did not have a role in this at all but he's there in spirit, Soft Legend (Linked Universe), Take that last tag literally, Well he's physically there, You'll know what I mean if you read this lol, haven't done this in a while, no, technically also - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:47:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28041906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclipseOfTheWild/pseuds/EclipseOfTheWild
Summary: “Hey, what are they setting up for?” Wind asked, looking around.He shrugged. “Don’t know, I’ve never really seen any celebrations like this in my time, only the ones we’ve seen in the others’ times.”The blonde gasped excitedly. “So it’ll be the first one you’ve seen in your Hyrule? We should totally go!”-Or: After entering yet another gate, the gang ends up in Hyrule's time. However, it is not the kingdom that he remembers.
Relationships: Hyrule & Legend (Linked Universe)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 75





	Paper Lanterns

**Author's Note:**

> So uh hello again  
> I did not intend to right something again so soon, but hey I liked the weekly prompt so uh  
> Let's do this
> 
> This turned out way longer than I thought it would xD  
> Enjoy!

“I’m used to travelling between worlds.” Legend started as the dark portal winked out of existence behind them. “But _that_ will never not be strange. At least when you travel between worlds you kind of know where you’re gonna end up.”

He gestured wildly at the landscape. “But I don’t know where in the name of _Hylia_ this is.”

Warriors shrugged. “I’m pretty used to it at this point. Back in my time I got warped into all kinds of time periods on my adventure. At least we’re not getting thrown straight into battle.”

“Silver linings.” The pink-haired hero remarked flatly.

After taking a long, inquisitive look around the landscape of flat plains and distant mountains, Hyrule gasped, running to the front of the group. “This looks like my time! I recognize the landmarks!” He paused. “Wait…”

Looking around, he saw the familiar cluster of mountains and cliffsides, and at a glance he could easily mistake it as the Hyrule he knew, yet...

Something was wrong. 

No, not wrong- different. 

Subtly different, but he knew his world; he knew every tree, every rock, every cave by heart, and this was not the same. Some of the caves he knew to be uncharted and monster-ridden now had wooden support beams lining the entrance, a wheeled-cart sitting just outside full of minerals. The path he had walked alone so many times was now well-worn from the feet of many travelers and traders. The sparse amounts of trees he remembered had grown in number, creating a small forest that stood a ways away. The ocean, while staying the same, untamable force of nature, now had larger docks on the beach and boats sailing in the distance.

How was this...possible? 

A hand was placed on his shoulder. “What’s the matter, Traveler?” The voice of Twilight questioned, concerned.

Hyrule didn’t respond for a moment, his focus still on their surroundings. 

“I...don’t understand.” He finally said. “This is definitely my Hyrule but it’s...different.”

“What do you mean?” Time.

The brunette blinked, softly shaking his head. “...N-nevermind, it’s nothing.” He turned to address the group, whose expressions held varying degrees of confusion. “I know the way to the nearest village, it’d be a good place to rest and stock up on supplies.” It depended on if traders had even dared to try and cross the monster-infested land, but maybe he’d be lucky with the odd increase in activity.

The oldest hero nodded his assent, wordlessly gesturing for him to take the lead.

It took only a minute after resuming walking for conversation to start up again between the others behind him; some groans-most likely Legend- some excited chattering- most likely Wind- and some occasional quiet laughter he recognized as Four’s.

Hyrule mostly stayed quiet, silently admiring the landscape. With utmost certainty, he could say that this land was his own.

So what had happened while he wasn’t here?

-

“Welcome to Nabooru Town!” Hyrule proudly announced as the nine heroes stepped into the bustling town. “Definitely bigger than I remember…” He murmured under his breath. 

Time hummed thoughtfully. “Nabooru, huh?”

“Do you recognize the name?” Warriors inquired.

“Indeed.” He smiled. “I once knew a fearsome Gerudo by that name. She turned out to be one of the Seven Sages who helped seal Ganon away once I defeated him.”

Legend’s eyes widened “Seven..Sages? I remember hearing about them..but I thought they only sealed Ganon after-” He blinked, a realization dawning in his eyes. “Ah- nevermind. I must be misremembering.”

There was an awkward beat of silence.

“Well,” Hyrule cut in. “I guess we can split up? Cover more ground.” 

Twilight nodded. “I agree, it’ll be much quicker if we have groups to gather supplies and find a place to stay.”

“Alright,” The eldest hero agreed. “Let’s say...pup, Traveler, Sailor, Blacksmith, and the cub, you five are in charge of gathering supplies. The rest of us will go ahead and find an inn and get settled. Sound agreeable?”

The other eight heroes nodded their assent.

“It’s the late afternoon, so we’ll meet back here just before sunset. Now let’s be off.”  
Time’s group split off, quickly disappearing as the crowd of people blocked them from view.

The crowd. He wasn’t used to seeing so many people in one place, not in his time. Any towns he had visited were sparsely populated; it had always been normal to him. Yet, even in Legend’s time- his predecessor’s time- there were so many people.

Even in Wild’s, and his entire kingdom was decimated. 

Seeing the other heroes’ times, how they prosper, he always couldn’t help but feel that he had done something wrong, that he had failed his people. Yet, looking at Nabooru Town, where people were laughing and smiling and together...he was confused.

A sudden clap startled him out of his thoughts. 

“So, what do we need, exactly?” Four asked. 

Wild had his Sheikah Slate out, swiping across its surface with a finger. “Uh, I definitely need to get some milk and butter, I’m running low.” He paused for a moment. “Maybe some arrows, too. I have elemental ones but I’d feel better stocking up on some normal ones.”

“Maybe refilling our empty potion bottles would be a good idea as well.” Twilight commented. 

“Yeah, I only have one or two left.” Wind agreed. “What about you, Traveler?”

“A-ah, yeah. That’s a good plan.” The brunette attempted to refocus on the present. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on whatever strangeness was going on with his time. 

“Okay! So how about and I stock up on food, and you guys handle the potions and arrows?” Four suggested, strangely chipper.

Everyone agreed, and the group split once again to go their separate ways.

As they properly entered town, Hyrule noticed some of the citizens setting up colorful banners alongside the path, various market stalls being set up by what looked to be traders with their giant packs of goods, people chatting excitedly about something he couldn’t quite make out.

What was happening?

It almost seemed like some kind of...celebration? 

“Hey, what are they setting up for?” Wind asked, looking around.

He shrugged. “Don’t know, I’ve never really seen any celebrations like this in my time, only the ones we’ve seen in the others’ times.”  
The blonde gasped excitedly. “So it’ll be the first one you’ve seen in your Hyrule? We should totally go!”

“I’d love to, but we don’t know when the next portal is going to show up, or even why the last one put us here…” He frowned.

Twi nudged his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Traveler. We usually have at least a bit of down time before something happens. I’m sure we can at least enjoy the festival. I think we all deserve a break, anyways.”

Hyrule smiled lightly. “Yeah, I...guess I do want to see my people celebrating. It’s...rare for us to find something to celebrate after...everything.”

“Well that settles it, then!” Wind cheered. “We’re going to a festival!”

-

“A festival, huh?”

Time hummed thoughtfully. “I do agree, we deserve to have some down time, especially after the past few days.”

The brunette nodded wearily. The last time period that they’d been in had been Twilight’s, and while visits to Twi’s time usually involved a visit to Ordon Village or Castletown, that hadn’t been the case. They were practically ambushed as soon as they arrived, an entire army of monsters waiting for them as soon as they exited the gate.

While dealing with bokoblins and a few moblins wasn’t the worst any of them had faced, the sheer numbers had taken their toll on them, especially after a few Hinoxes showed up mid-fight. Most of their potions had gone to that one battle, and they were left too exhausted to travel anywhere, so they were forced to set up camp until everyone healed, and by then another gate opened.

Admittedly, he felt a bit bad that Twilight never got to see his village while Hyrule was getting to enjoy an entire festival in his own time.

“So we can go?” Wild’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

The eldest hero smiled. “I don’t see why not.”

There were cheers from all around the room.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to get some much needed beauty sleep.” Warriors announced, yawning.  
Legend smirked. “Well you definitely need it.”

The scarfed boy gave him a light glare. “Like you have any room to talk, Pinkie.”

“You wanna go?” 

Four pushed his way in between them. “Girls, girls, you’re both pretty, now just go to bed.”

With a few eye rolls and a couple laughs, the nine heroes wandered off to their shared rooms. The choice to share rooms was somewhat to save money, but in reality most of the group appreciated having the company. Hyrule had immediately volunteered to share a room with Legend, who didn’t seem to mind too much.

The two were quiet as they entered their room, Legend immediately making a beeline for one of the beds, collapsing on the soft surface dramatically.

After a moment, the pink-haired hero turned his head to him, raising an eyebrow. “So what exactly is the deal with this festival thing anyways? I thought you said your Hyrule doesn’t do stuff like that.” 

Hyrule nodded. “That’s what’s confusing me. This whole place is weird, I noticed from the second we got here. It looks-” He bit his lip, unsure of how to continue. “Normal.” 

“Normal?”

“Like...it looks like your guys’ times do. It’s weird.”

“What does it usually look like?”

The brunette frowned, looking away. “Destroyed, desolate, abandoned- take your pick.”

“Oh.” Legend’s eyes reflected a glint of sympathy. “Well...maybe this means things are getting better?”

He shrugged. “I guess. It just...doesn’t seem right.”

“It doesn’t seem right that your kingdom is rebuilding?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

His predecessor gave a long-suffering sigh. “Then what do you mean?”

“I…” Hyrule paused. “I don’t know.”

Legend sat up fully, giving him a strange look. “No point in stressing on it then, is there? Look, just get some sleep, Traveler. Go to the festival, have a good time, enjoy what you’ve got right now,” He averted his eyes. “Before it’s gone.”

The brunette sensed a deeper meaning behind his words, but chose not to pry as he simply nodded and ambled over to his own bed, pulling off his boots and leather bracers to set on the floor. Letting out a yawn, he flopped onto the mattress, resting his head on one of the feathery pillows.

“G’night, Vet.” He called quietly.

Footsteps sounded on the creaky, wooden floor, and the candle in their room went out, leaving only the faint smell of smoke.

“Goodnight, Traveler.”

-

To be honest, Hyrule didn’t know what to expect of the festival. He wasn’t sure whether to set his expectations high or low, and after thinking about it for most of his morning, he figured he’d just take Legend’s advice and not stress about it.

After hopping through time, he’d admittedly seen festivals before, so it wasn’t a new sight; the banners, the bright colors, the smell of roasting meat, children rushing by with sweets clutched in their small hands. Yet, something about seeing it in his Hyrule made it...awe-inspiring.

Seeing his people happy and so carefree instead of fearful and wary- it was better than anything he could’ve ever imagined.

The others had gone their separate ways when they arrived, assumedly looking for something to do, but Hyrule hadn’t found himself moving an inch, practically rooted to the spot. A few people gave him glances, but he was mostly ignored, which wasn’t exactly unusual.

Guess some things did stay the same.

“Hey there, Mister!” A girl’s voice called from next to him.

Hyrule had to stop himself from instinctively jumping away in surprise, his hand already rising to grasp the hilt of his sword- which he had left at the inn. 

“Um, hello!” He replied hesitantly, trying for a smile.

The kid gave him a scrutinizing stare. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here, Mister.” She smiled brightly. “Are you here for the Hero’s Day Festival?”  
He clearly didn’t hear that right. “The- the what?”

“The Hero’s Day Festival!” The girl repeated. “Don’t you know about it? Every year, all of Hyrule celebrates the Hero of Hyrule! The legends say that he defeated an evil pig monster and saved the whole land!” Her arms waved wildly as she spoke.

“Legends..?” Now the brunette was really confused. “But..didn’t that just happen?”

She burst out into laughter. “Wow, you’re real funny, Mister! Everyone knows that that was a hundred years ago! Even a kid like me!”

Hyrule stared incredulously. This kid had to be messing with him, right? Without a word, he turned, dashing off to find the nearest vendor, who happened to be selling hats of some sort a ways down the road. 

“Excuse me, um, could you tell me when exactly the Hero of Hyrule defeated Ganon?” He only realized how weird of a question that would’ve been when it was already out of his mouth. 

The man raised an eyebrow. “Surely you know it was over a century ago? Look, I don’t have time for practical jokes, either buy something or scram.”

“S-sorry, I’ll get out of your way.” The brunette retreated quickly, unsure of his destination other than to get away.

He pushed through the bustling crowd, feet pounding on the cobblestone- since when did Nabooru Town have cobblestone- as he ran. There were a few shouts and complaints as he forced his way past, but he paid them no mind. 

His pace only slowed when he was back at the village gate, away from the people. 

Hyrule turned, staring at the ongoing festival, still in shock. What was even going on? Not only was he right about something being off about his time, it turned out that this wasn’t even his time, not really.

This was his kingdom one hundred years in the future?

And they...threw a festival? For him?

After so much time they...remembered him? They celebrated him? He was so confused. Sure, he had the title, and he did defeat Ganon, but it never really seemed like anyone had cared about that. It’s not that he wanted some huge celebration or anything- in reality, he never really saw what he did as heroic, he just...did what was right.

He assumed that everyone else saw things the same way, since they were so indifferent to him- well, besides his Zeldas. Not that he blamed them; in his own time they were suffering even without Ganon around. Whether subconsciously or not, he had accepted the fact that his Hyrule would never be as grand as the others’, that it’d always be sparsely populated and infested with monsters.

Yet-

Hyrule’s thoughts came to a halt as a figure sauntered towards him. Immediately, he recognized the blue, floppy hat and the single, pink lock of hair.

“Did you seriously get lost in a small town like this?” Legend jerked his thumb to point behind him. “The festival’s that way.”

“I didn’t get lost, I just..ended up here.” 

The other boy stared, unimpressed. “That sounds like getting lost, but I’ll take your word for it. So what are you doing here, besides not getting lost.”

Hyrule raised his shoulders in a half-shrug. “I...found out why this place felt so off to me.”

“Yeah? What was it? Evil magic? Flying whale?”

“What? No!” The brunette gave him an incredulous look. “Where did that come from?”

Legend mimed his shrug. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Well, no. No flying whales were involved.” Hyrule sighed, turning his head to the sky. “Turns out, we’re not even in my time. We’re a whole century in the future.”

The pink-haired hero’s eyes widened significantly. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “Not only that, apparently this festival is celebrating me. Or, the hero of Hyrule, I guess.”

“Ay, look at you rising up in the world! Getting a whole festival dedicated to you!” Legend playfully nudged him, smirking.

“I just...don’t understand how this is even possible!” Hyrule exclaimed, agitated. “Back home people barely care about what I did, and you can barely even call the place a kingdom! It’s practically in shambles, yet I’m supposedly standing a hundred years in the future where there’s people and celebrations, where they celebrate me for just doing my job!”

“Traveler, did you..really not think that your kingdom could rebuild?”

He bit his lip. “I mean...how could it? It’s been completely annihilated, and its remnants are scattered towns full of scared, broken people. All because I couldn’t-”

“You better not be pinning that on you.” Legend warned. “Ganon’s actions are his own damn fault, not yours. Besides, you’re the only one who had the guts to step up and actually do something, and guess what? You did do something: you defeated Ganon and you stopped a potentially eternal reign of terror. So if you even think about saying that what happened was your fault I will literally throw you.”

Despite himself, Hyrule snorted at the thought. “I’d like to see you try.”

“Oh, don’t think I won’t.” 

“I mean even I can’t deny that I’m a hero after being told as much by a literal _goddess_ , but it’s..I don’t know..hard to feel like it matters when all you see in the kingdom you ‘saved’ is devastation.” He looked down, sighing.

An arm was suddenly draped over his shoulders, steering his gaze towards the bright lights of the festival. “Well, then look at it now. Do you really think this would’ve even been possible if you hadn’t done anything? If you just stayed holed up somewhere your whole life?”

Hyrule hesitated, before shaking his head. “I guess not…” 

“This is a future you made possible, Traveler. Maybe your Hyrule is in the dumps now-” Legend ignored the other’s sarcastic ‘Gee, thanks’. “But because of you, it doesn’t always have to be that way.”

“You think so?”

The pink-haired hero smirked. “I _know_ so. You’re _my_ successor, after all.”

A smile formed on Hyrule’s face. “Yeah. Thanks, Vet.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t be telling the others about this. The last thing I need is for them to think I’m going soft.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. You can keep up your reputation as a prickly cactus.”

“Prickly cactus?!” 

Any remarks on Hyrule’s tongue died as he saw a light floating in the air.

“What is that..?” The brunette questioned out loud.  
As if on cue, more lights started to drift into the sky, outshining even the stars.

“I think they’re..lanterns.” Legend spoke after a few moments. “Floating lanterns. I remember seeing them as a kid when my uncle would take me to festivals.”

Hyrule’s smile widened at the sight. “They’re..so pretty.”

He felt a warmth bloom in his chest. Even if this was a century in the future, these were his people, and they were happy. They lived in a world safe from Ganon, free to travel and throw festivals and grow.

For so long, he had felt so hopeless for his kingdom, yet, seeing the lanterns shining brightly, soaring, he realized something:

In his future, in the future of all of Hyrule,

There was hope after all.


End file.
